Tradition and light

      Two words come immediately to mind wherever I am at this time of the year: light and tradition.

      Light relates to the insights I gain from my reading of the Scriptures, to which I turn often in this season of joy and spiritual growth, and tradition centers on the Bible-based Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols held in King’s College Chapel, Cambridge, in England, at 3pm local time on Christmas Eve.

      During my years as a broadcaster with the BBC in London, I was privileged often to make the crossing announcement from its studios in the Strand that took us into the soft, filtered light of that English Gothic sanctuary just as the boy choristers (let’s call them angel voices!) entered the chapel singing “Once in Royal David’s City” to a radio audience of about 370 million.

      The soloist, whose voice is the first we hear, is nominated by the choir director only as the boys reach the main door. He braces himself and sings the first verse into the darkness—suddenly alone, but heard around the world.

      It's a tradition in my family to listen live to the ninety-minute transmission wherever we happen to be.

      Now, I’m happy to be reminded by magazine editors such as Kelli Trujillo that, in Scripture, the word light is “multifaceted in its meaning, speaking of Creation, glory, righteousness, the kingdom, God’s presence, and much more.”

       That observation is drawn from Trujillo’s introduction to what seems likely to become an annual (and even traditional) devotional guide that weaves in and out of the Advent story and is published by Christianity Today (CT).

      Advent is the first season of the Christian church year, leading up to Christmas and including the four preceding Sundays.

      This four-week CT venture is designed for group or individual reflection, with contributions from a wide range of established Christian teachers and authors, including Timothy Keller, Patricia Raybon, Daniel Treier, Mark Galli, Catherine McNiel, and Christopher Wright. 

      Further insight flows from Peter Leithart, president of a Christian think-tank and training institute in Alabama, who writes:

      “Light dazzles. … Light glorifies because it enables everything to appear in the fullness of its own glory. God is an eternal fellowship of light, eternal source, eternal radiance. …

      “As we anticipate this future Advent with hope,” concludes Leithart, “may we also seek to build a city of light, life, justice, and glory through our lives today.”

      And this, I would suggest, might well become another worthy tradition!